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[h1][color=c1196b]ᗩᔕTEᖇIOᑎ KᗩIᖇO[/color][/h1]
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[h2]ᗰᗩTTᕼIᗩᔕ ᖴITᘔᑕᒪᗩᖇEᑎᑕE[/h2]
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Asterion did not go home right away and he took June to  her apartment, her place of safety, as they entered the fenced in community, got through the protected front doors, and up to her apartment. She was shaking from what went down at the restaurant, “[color=ffffff]I am sorry that I begged you to go out. I didn’t… I…[/color]” she was trying to apologize and talk. 

He shook his head and cupped her cheeks in his hands, “[color=c1196b]Do not do that to yourself. None of that was your fault,[/color]” he protested her apologies and that seemed to settle her emotions a little bit. She began to cry again. She kept sucking up her emotions and letting them out. She wasn’t built for the art of war and she was in the beginning of one at the Golden Palace tonight. He felt awful. 

“[color=ffffff]If I didn’t beg for you to go out. None of that would have happened and you would be at home resting. You need to be resting,[/color]” she argued with him. Her hands began to move as she talked as if she was trying to get nervous energy out of her system. 

Asterion stared at her and shook his head, “[color=c1196b]Come on. I am not leaving you at your apartment alone. Grab a set of pajamas and a change of clothes. You are coming home with me,[/color]” the man did not pose that as a question but as an order. 

June went to say something but he had already pulled out the key fob from her purse and opened her apartment. Going in to grab the things for her. She stood quietly at the doorway as he went and grabbed the things that he requested her to grab before coming back to the apartment, grabbing June, and leading her out. 

[hr]

There was a thickness in the air as he walked into the Kairo Skyscraper, he was not in a good mood at all, and that dinner with Ayla and Glade put him into a worse mood. [color=c1196b]I wonder who Matthias pissed off,[/color] he chuckled to himself while waving at Mitzie. “[color=c1196b]Good evening, sir,[/color]” she sounded so cheerful. 

June was right beside him and looking gravely upset. Mitzie went to say something but Asterion gave her eyes that told her not to press. She quieted right up and moved on with the conversation as he led it. 

Asterion dipped his head in respect, “[color=c1196b]Good evening, Mitzie. Why are you still here?[/color]” He stopped in front of her desk while looking at her. 

She smiled, “[color=ffffff]Susan called off and the new hire, Thomas, never showed up for training,[/color]” she informed him positively. 

Nodding his head, “[color=c1196b]I will send Elara down here so you can go home,[/color]” he informed her before continuing to the elevator that it would be the quickest way to his penthouse. Grabbing his phone and calling Elara to get her or her to get someone to replace Mitzie for the rest of the night. Then he hung up the phone. 

Reaching the penthouse, he groaned in pain, as he was able to instantly begin relaxing from the events of the day and the busyness of it all. Instead of jumping to any more business or anything — Asterion went and took a shower. Making sure he was clean. He took a shower earlier but he wanted to be clean again and felt dirty. 

Wrapping a towel around his waist, securely, he grabbed his laptop and put it onto the kitchen counter and opened it. Letting it boot up as he turned the oven on and put something in to warm up since he didn’t eat at the restaurant because of his mood. He began to make himself a mixed drink, mixing a few ingredients together, as he went over to his laptop, logged in, and went to call Matthias on Skype. Watching as the video call was ringing to be picked up. It was later at night, so he wouldn’t be surprised if the man didn’t pick up, but he wanted to talk. 

But the man did pick up.

Matthias emerged on the other side of the screen, dressed in a three-piece suit, his head filtered out by the camera as always, his background a virtual fog.

“[b]Congratulations on the acquisition, Mr. Kairo,[/b]” the prophet intoned. “[b]I had expected you’d require, or at least appreciate my help in taking Yellow Brick, but by the time I turned my gaze in that direction, you had already toppled the Del Guarde.[/b]”

Asterion glanced over to the living room to see June was out of it at this point. She was sleeping on the couch, tucked under comfortable blankets, with nice pillows, and she had passed out when he was in the shower. He sighed while looking at the screen when it came on, showing Matthias dressed so nicely, “[color=c1196b]If you did come to the rescue, I would have definitely praised you for it,[/color]” he teased the man but showed he would have been thankful. 

Making up the drink, a Basil Gimlet, and taking a sip of it. “[color=c1196b]You must have pissed someone off, Matthias, could you think of anyone?[/color]” he sounded playful even though it was serious. He wanted to know if Matthias could think of anyone or anything that he might have pissed off at the moment. The man leaned on the counter, waiting for his food to get done cooking, and he stared into the camera. He only had a towel around his waist which exposed the shape he was in, muscular and toned, and he took a sip of his drink while his wet hair seemed to not want to stay out of his eyes or curl around his head.

“[b]What brought this on?[/b]”

What he really wanted to ask, of course, was why Asterion had called straight out of the shower, but maybe he was just that sort of person. Matthias himself could probably do with a shower himself; he still stank of blood and rubbing alcohol. Pain in the ass to have to bandage himself back up afterwards though. Spritz on a bit of cologne and call it a day.

“[b]I’m not a mob boss, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you could fill an auditorium with people who’d clap if I was gunned down.[/b]” He leaned back against his chair. “[b]Same for you really.[/b]”

Asterion shrugged, “[color=c1196b]I went to dinner tonight with June knowing I was meeting two unfamiliar faces. I have a suspicion more went on, but I can tell you what happened. The woman named Ayla, she is from the Dark Aces, and offered $200,000 (20 wealth) for me to take over Riverbend. Clearly, I did not accept or even entertain the idea of being interested. Then they held June at gunpoint, the woman, Ayla, was able to control me with just a voice, and I ended up breaking out of her hold and shooting multiple people dead at the Golden Palace. Ayla is being held somewhere in my Skyscraper,[/color]” Asterion was straight to the point and up front with Matthias. 

“[color=c1196b]I was hoping that you might have had an idea, but I know. Our lines of work tend to get eyes on us,[/color]” he chuckled at the man’s words. “[color=c1196b]It seems like the Dark Aces want us up against each other. I rather have an ally than a little bit of extra cash in my pockets. One is much more valuable than the other,[/color]” he continued to sip on his drink before a timer went off. He leaned over and turned it off. Going over to the left side of the screen for Matthias and taking out something from the oven and turning it off. Putting it on the stove and turning back towards him to let the food cool off. They looked like pizza bites.

“[b]You mentioned two faces. The other didn’t show?[/b]”

“[color=c1196b]The other one did show, he performed on stage, then joined us only for a moment before he was dragged away in the whole thing. His name was Glade Brey or at least that was the name he gave me. I did not figure out if he had a gyft or not, but I assume he did. He was there and protected for some reason,[/color]” Asterion admitted. “[color=c1196b]I will be having a group of men hunt him down. I have a few questions for him.[/color]” 

It was concerning, no doubt. The Dark Aces were an enigma, one of those shadow organizations that didn’t hold any overt territories, but were still powerful and wealthy. Matthias thought back to the map of Nocturnia, to those ever-shifting territories, the lines drawn between friend, foe, and self. Where could the Dark Aces hide, except in East Nocturnia? And if their intent was to drive a wedge between Asterion and the Order of Enlightenment…was Cyrus associated with them?

Still.

“[b]You should’ve just taken the deal and then handed me half the Wealth after I hand Riverbend over to you nominally. Or take the deal, ask for a deposit, and split that instead.[/b]” The smoke-faced man shrugged. “[b]In either case, the Dark Aces would’ve been pissed, but we’d both be a good bit richer outta it.[/b]” As it were, Asterion had just ended going through a shootout, and now had the security risks associated with keeping a member of the Dark Aces within their territory. “[b]Still, glad you’ve interest in remaining a friendly neighbour of the Order. It’d be a waste of our efforts to war against each other.[/b]”

Asterion stared at the screen like Matthias wasn’t thinking about all the variables, “[color=c1196b]There are too many variables that could have happened there. They would have twisted it or something. You would have probably been pissed if I took that deal even if I [i]shared[/i] it with you. It would have caused doubt in our alliance and everything else,[/color]” he spoke evenly about this. “[color=c1196b]I rather not cause any doubt.[/color]” 

“[color=c1196b]My understanding, we want the exact same thing for our people or something extremely similar, Matthias. That is more valuable to me than a little extra money when I can claim more land. I plan on expanding.[/color]” he confessed. 

Then he thought about it, Emilia and that conversation, and he looked at Matthias. “[color=c1196b]And I am not interested in cooperating with terrorists. Once they put a gun to June’s head, an innocent doctor, I had no plans to be pleasant with them. They showed me that I shouldn’t give them the light of day,[/color]” his eyes closed as he began to feel his muscles begin to twitch and spasm. 

A painful sounding groan could be heard from the man while he set down his drink. His body began to aggressively spasm and he grabbed onto the counter to support himself, “[color=c1196b]And I had a late night guest last night. They want me to meet with their district leader to talk about opportunities,[/color]” he grabbed onto the counter tighter before going off screen and a drawer could be heard aggressively opening as he dug through it. Grabbing a muscle relaxant that attacked overactive nerves before taking the amount he needed, going over to the sink, and bending over to sip out of the running water before he took the pills without issues. His body continued to shake from his overactive nerves and the pain it was causing him hallowed the emotions in his face and damped the light in his eyes as he looked back at Matthias. “[color=c1196b]I am not going to work with people that do not want the same or similar goals. I do not believe the Dark Aces have goals anywhere near mine,[/color]” a hand came up to rub one of his temples. 

“[b]I’m a man of faith,[/b]” Matthias replied. Well, he wasn’t really, but it was what it was. “[b]Forgiveness comes with the position.[/b]”

Still, it was hard to tell, one way or the other, how he truly would have felt. His emotions had been distant from his thoughts for a long while now, enough so that he hadn’t truly felt fully swept away by his emotions for a while. All that it required of him was to stay still for a moment, then act on thoughts alone. He hadn’t imagined Asterion to have taken this temporary alliance as a possibly permanent one though. A ceasefire, sure, but an alliance…

Silverside was the most livable district in Nocturnia, but Nickel was close, despite life there behind more like a state within a state. Ruled by someone who thought himself as the head of government, with the ability to declare his enemies as terrorists. It was a touch more zealous, a touch more authoritarian, than even the police death squads that roamed Eastern and Northern Nocturnia. Smoke curled as Matthias watched Asterion medicate. He doubted there was a successor in place, if Asterion died from overdose.

“[b]I too, am expanding. Specifically, I intend on taking White Pine.[/b]” A pause. Was it worthwhile to let him know? Yes. Let it be a sign of good faith. “[b]I’ve heard that the military have not [i]only[/i] sent Gylde’s detachment into Nocturnia. They’ve brought headhunters along as well, and our recent actions will likely bring our heads into their scopes.[/b]”

Matthias passed a hand through where his head was.

“[b]Now, I don’t have a head, but you and your family do. So keep them close and get some proper rest, Mr. Kairo.[/b]”

“[color=c1196b]I try to forgive,[/color]” he ran his hands through his hair while breathing out as if he was trying to self regulate the internal pain he was feeling. “[color=c1196b]It is hard to forgive when you see people doing such horrible things for a little extra money,[/color]” he confessed which is what he could grasp from the Dark Aces — he was going to find Glade Brey one way or another and ask his questions. Plus, he loved playing the cat and mouse game. It was so fun. 

He shrugged his shoulders, “[color=c1196b]Depending on how this meeting with a certain someone,[/color]” his eyes flicked towards Matthias. “[color=c1196b]I was going to do the same thing. It all depends though that is being setup so if you go after White Pine before that. Tell me, if you want any help,[/color]” he offered casually. 

Asterion laughed a little before grabbing his alcoholic drink and pouring it down the sink, rinsing the glass out, and putting water into it. He took a drink of that, “[color=c1196b]I wish I had a family. Sadly, men like me do not get those privileges or we do then they get destroyed because of us, so I will try my best not to have one,[/color]” he laughed a little more thinking it was so amusing. 

Taking another drink, “[color=c1196b]And if they kill me,[/color]” he shrugged. “[color=c1196b]I guess, I die, right? Nothing more to it.[/color]” he leaned back on the counter as another shrug from his shoulders could be seen. He stared passed the camera and towards June who was asleep on the couch. He thought for a few seconds, “[color=c1196b]I do have a question, do you know anything about Bella Delacroix? She is from the neighboring district and I have heard some things about her. Is there anything in particular that you have heard?[/color]” he wondered. 

“[b]Ah, so you’re meeting the Red Rose Syndicate.[/b]”

There was no doubt in the Lodestar’s tone. It only made sense, after all. The police were not the leaders of any district, and the Iron Rose had been far too quiet as of late for a woman who held the reins to one of the oldest crime families in Nocturnia. And the only reason for being quiet? Well, that was to build up one’s assets in preparation for large-scale action. A late night call, an individual that spoke on behalf of a leader, and similar plans to encroach upon the Thorned Roses’s territory…

It could only point towards Delacroix.

“[b]As her neighbour, I do hope you know more about her than I do. The only thing that stands out to me would be that she has been far too quiet as of late. Perhaps she’s feeling the pressure of the Lion’s presence, or perhaps internal power struggles have kept her busy, but…while the rest of Nocturnia wars, her gang is fresh still.[/b]” Ivory Tower was right beside Nickel, after all. If her intentions were violent though, was the meeting meant to extract a lesser reward in exchange for the promise of some degree of peace? “[b]Ah, but her Gyft, as you ought to know, is one built for close-quarters combat. Any face-to-face meeting with her, I imagine, would carry the risk of the Iron Rose simply changing her mind.[/b]”

After all, Asterion may think little of his death, but the fallout would still be quite troublesome, regardless of the opportunities it’d bring on the table.

Asterion smirked, “[color=c1196b]I am fishing, Matthias,[/color]” he admitted. He waved his hand, “[color=c1196b]So we pretty much know the same things…mhm…[/color]” he seemed indifferent about that. There was the regular knowledge of all the leaders and what not. He knew he was playing the downlow for longer than he should but people were learning his true face even if they didn’t know it was truly his or not. 

Tapping his fingers on the counter as he took another drink of water, “[color=c1196b]I want to see your district, Matthias. Before I begin meeting with more people. I want to get to know you. Your people. What type of district you have created,[/color]” Asterion confessed. “[color=c1196b]I want to see if I [i]should[/i] continue being friendly with you, in a truce, or whatever we have going on.[/color]” 

“[b]You don’t need to get to know me.[/b]”

It was an immediate response. Firm in the way that his more measured, thoughtful responses weren’t.

“[b]But in the name of this truce we have, I would not mind if you took a gander through the districts I control and draw your conclusions from there.[/b]”

Asterion’s eyes sharpened with such a response. There was a flick of something dark and ominous. Something that showed he didn’t care for such an answer when he was being friendly. “[color=c1196b]I will put a rain-check on it,[/color]” he seemed completely disinterested in the topic now. The instant response and such wording showed him that Matthias wasn’t looking to keep this going or being anything more than not personal with him.  

“[color=c1196b]I hope you have a nice night, Matthias, like you said, I should get some rest, mhm?[/color]” he completely changed the topic. He didn’t want to speak about having a truce anymore… if you could call it that but he would keep that to himself. 

“[b]Good night, Mr. Kairo.[/b]”
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[b]Collaboration with[/b] [@ERode]